Bethlehem's McBride making big impression with Rockies

Liberty High and Lehigh University product Matt McBride was called up to the Colorado Rockies in August.

Liberty High and Lehigh University product Matt McBride was called up to the Colorado Rockies in August. (JUSTIN LAFLEUR, LEHIGH ATHLETICS)

Chelsea Vielhauer,Special to The Morning Call

Bethlehem's McBride making big impression

QUEENS, N.Y. — Former Lehigh University and Liberty High School baseball standout Matt McBride returned to the East Coast Monday as the Colorado Rockies began a three-game series at the New York Mets. It marks McBride's first trip to the East Coast since the Bethlehem native was called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Aug. 19.

McBride was batting .305 with seven home runs, 35 RBI, 27 runs scored and 11 doubles at Colorado Springs before being called up to the Rockies.

"I was obviously excited about getting called up," said McBride. "It's one of those things that you dream about as a young kid. It was 3:30-3:45 when I got the call and I was worried about getting to the park before the game because it was about an hour and a half from Colorado Springs to Denver."

McBride didn't waste much time in his first start with the Rockies on Aug. 20. He came up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded and Colorado trailing Kansas City 2-1 and ripped a grand slam over the left field fence to give Colorado a 5-2 lead.

"It was really, really awesome for me to watch him come up to the Rockies and do exactly what he's capable of doing and not have any letdowns, not even a learning curve," explained Blackmon. "He just came right up and started swinging the bat. I was super pumped for him and after the game, I felt that it was really fitting for me to dump the ice bucket on his head during the postgame interview. I was happy to be there and be a part of it."

Since his return to the bigs, McBride has recorded two homers and six RBIs, going 5-for-18 at the plate entering Monday's game.

The journey to the big leagues wasn't exactly easy for the Bethlehem native. McBride made his major league debut in 2012 and was on track for an All-Star Triple-A season in 2013 before suffering a season-ending neck injury.

"Injuries happen and it's frustrating, especially when it's something along the lines of your neck and you're worried about making sure no permanent damage is done," said McBride. "Obviously it was frustrating that I missed the rest of last season, but I was confident in the doctors and the Rockies trainers and was happy to get back on the field."

After sitting out for the beginning of the 2014 season, McBride returned to the diamond and picked up right where he left off.

"Having surgery and being back so soon, it just shows how hard he's worked in his rehab," said Blackmon. "He's done everything he's needed to do. I'm really happy he's gotten back to where he was a year ago."

A large contingent of McBride's friends and family made the trip to New York Monday to see him in action, including his parents and high school and college coaches.

"I don't think there's a word to describe what it's like to see him here," said George McBride, Matt's father. "That word surreal, I never knew what it meant until I lived it and it's surreal right now to say the least."

Matt hopes to have a long future in MLB, but for now he's focused on finishing the season and getting better every day.

"It's best to take it one day at a time," explained McBride. "Right now, I'm just worried about finishing this season. In baseball, you can really only take it one day at a time. You don't want to get caught looking too far into the future."